History of Fuel Cell Development

Currently, the PEFC and SOFC are the most promising candidates for conventional power system replacement, with the MCFC also under continued development. The PAFC and AFC have all but ceased development efforts, with the exception of niche applications. Based on the continued market drivers of devinding petroleum resources, environmental 

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However, throughout the history of fuel cell development, very few attempts were made to build a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell with a sulfuric acid solution as an electrolyte. Sulfuric acid proved not to work well in fuel cells as an electrolyte. 

The construction of small fuel cells is a relatively new field of development in the history of fuel cells. Basic work in this field started after the beginning of... 

There are monographs concerning fuel cells (141-144). The principle of fuel cells was observed already in 1838 (145). Soon afterwards the Grove cell was developed (146). The Grove cell consisted of a zinc anode in dilute sulfuric acid and a platinum cathode in concentrated nitric acid. The two electrodes were separated by a porous ceramic pot (147). Further aspects of the history of fuel cells have been detailed (148). 

Chapter 1 presents a global perspective of the field of fuel cells so that the reader can grasp the practical significance and potential applications of the fuel cells they are about to study. The chapter presents a brief history of various types of fuel cell development (many people are unaware that actual fuel cell products have been developed and in use for years now), the basic functions of a fuel cell, and attempts to place the field in proper context... 

Hoffman, Peter. Tomorrows Energy Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet. Cambridge, Mass. The MIT Press, 2002. Discusses the history, economics, and science of hydrogen fuel cell development. 

Yokokawa H, Sakai N (2003) Part 4. Fuel cell principle, systems and applications, Chapter 13 History of high temperature fuel cell development. In Vielstich W, Lamm A, Gasteiger HA (eds) Handbook of fuel cells fundamentals technology and application, vol 1. Fundamentals and survey of systems. Wiley, Chichester, pp 219-266... 

H. Yokokawa, N. Sakai, History of High Temperature Fuel Cell Development, Fuel Cell Handbook, Vol. 1, pp. 217-266 (2003)... 

H. Yokokawa, Fuel Cells-From Fundamentals to Systems, 1(2). (2001) 1-15 see also H. Yokokawa and N. Sakai, History of high temperature fuel cell development, in Handbook for Fuel Cell Technology, Wiley, Vol. 1, Ch. 13, 2003, pp. 219-266. 

The history of the development of the li-ion battery is similar. Attempts to develop a rechargeable battery based on metallic lithium failed, but a totally new concept was introduced sometime in the mid-1980s (cf Section 20.3.4). This is still a very active field of R D, aiming at improving the performance and reducing the price, but the first commercial li-ion batteries were introduced just a few years after it had been invented, and within a decade this too became a multibillion product world wide. Thus the vicious circle argument used to explain the lack of success of fuel cells applies equally well to primary and rechargeable li batteries, but did not prevent their commercial success. 

Alternative cathode catalysts to platinum have been the focus of many researchers over the past four decades. Numerous reviews have been published on various aspects and types of PEM fuel cell cathode catalysts.2,7-21 In this work we review the major classes of non-noble metal ORR catalysts in acidic electrolytes. The techniques used to study the catalysts, a brief history of catalyst development including major breakthroughs, and possible future directions will be discussed. 

This brief history of century-old investigations toward hydrogen interaction with solid materials and nanomaterials brings us to the current state of affairs when the hydrogen storage for fuel cell systems still remains to be solved. Indeed, in the first decade of the new Millennium, and at the advent of the Hydrogen Economy, fuel cell stacks for use in mass transportation, like those developed by Ballard Power Systems based in Canada, are ready for mass commercialization. Also, hydrogen... 

A fusion between these direct hydrocarbon proposals and IT/SOFCs such as that of the Mitsubishi Materials Corp. (Section 4.5), or that of Ceres Power Ltd (Section 4.6), could make a hugely competitive, simplified and cheaper future system, with further major development potential to take account of the points in Appendix A of this book, that is fuel cells allied to concentration cell circulators, namely complete fuel cells. Such a development will await judgement of this book, and departure into the history of the application of combustion theory to fuel cells using isothermal oxidation. 

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